Malaysia – The Country

Malaysia is composed of two regions—Peninsular, or West, Malaysia and East Malaysia—separated by 400 mi (640 km) of the South China Sea. West Malaysia occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula (Malaya) and is bordered to the north by Thailand. East Malaysia lies on the northwestern part of the island of Borneo and consists of the states of Sarawak and Sabah.

Peninsular Malaysia is largely mountainous; East Malaysia has coastal plains rising to hills and then to a mountainous core. Much of Malaysia is covered by rainforest. Tree crops, notably rubber and palm oil, are the most important cash crops; rice is the chief staple crop. Petroleum drilling and production and tin mining are important, as is the manufacture of electronic products, rubber goods, cement, and iron and steel products. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; the chief of state is the paramount ruler, and the head of government is the prime minister.

Area: 127,366 sq mi (329,876 sq km)

Population (2007): 26,572,000

Capitals: Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya.

Languages: Malay (official), Chinese, and assorted Austronesian and Indo-European languages

Religions: Islam (official), Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, some local religions

Currency: ringgit

Extracted from www.britannica.com 2009.